UK’s Top CEO Pay Shake-Up: Melrose Boss Takes the Lead

Peter Dilnot, the relatively unknown CEO of aerospace engineering firm Melrose, has surged to the top of the FTSE 100 pay rankings with a £45 million package. The Sandhurst-educated former army pilot and his predecessor Simon Peckham shared over £100 million in payouts last year, thanks to a controversial long-term incentive scheme. Nearly two-thirds of Melrose shareholders opposed the awards, calling them excessive, as the CEO-to-worker pay gap reached 1,112 times.

AstraZeneca’s Pascal Soriot, last year’s highest-paid boss, dropped to third place with £14.7 million as the pharma giant’s stock rally slowed. Pearson’s new CEO Omar Abbosh leapfrogged into second spot with £16.3 million, mostly from a Microsoft contract buyout. Meanwhile, Rolls-Royce’s Tufan Erginbilgic took a £10 million pay cut despite strong performance, highlighting the uneven nature of executive rewards.

The Melrose payouts mark one of the largest in UK corporate history, with four executives sharing £208 million. The company’s value has more than doubled since the bonus scheme began, fueled by deals like the GKN acquisition. However, the shareholder revolt echoes past controversies like Persimmon’s £75 million payout to Jeff Fairburn, raising fresh questions about executive pay fairness in British boardrooms.

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